Improvement in lamps for light-houses



K. JACKSON.

Lamp for Light-Houses.

N0. 133,647. Patented Dec.3,1872".

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AM. PHOTO-LIYHOERAFH/O COJVJI (OSBOHNE S PRUCESSJ U ITED STATES SAMUEL K. JACKSON, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN LAMPS FOR LIGHT-HOUSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 133,647, dated December 3, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL K. JACK- soN, of Norfolk city, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented a Beacon-Light for Light-Houses or other purposes, of which the following is a specification:

The invention consists in automatically maintaining the desired oil-level in a beacon-lamp by means of hydrostatic pressure applied so as to take advantage of the different specific gravities of oil and water, and so as to cause the water to feed itself and take up the space gradually vacated by the oil. The object of this invention is to produce a continuous light, which will require no attention except from an inspector, who visits the beacon only at long intervals.

Figure l is a sectional elevation. Fig. 2 is a side view, partly broken away, of the connection between oil-vessel and burner; and Fig. 3, a sectional elevation of the burner which is preferably employed.

A in the drawing represents a water-vessel having a pipe, a. In the vessel is placed an oil reservoir or tube, B, having the pipe b leading to a burner, O. The oil-reservoir B may be open at lower end, or alittle elevated above bottom of vessel A; or it may rest upon and be laterally apertured near the bottom of A. D is'an air-tight water-chamber, superposed on the vessel A, and provided with the pipe 01, which passes .dowuto a level with the horizontal bottom of pipe a.

The operation is as follows: The chambers AR are partially filled with water, and the required amount of oil poured into reservoir B, when water is supplied to vessel A until it covers the end of pipe d. The communication between air-tight water-chamber D and chamberA is then secured by turninga suitable cock in pipe (1. As the oil from reservoir B flows through pipe b,'and is consumed by burner 0,

I the weight of oil decreases and the water falls,

pressing up the oil, butnot quite so high as before, theaggregate of fall being divided between the water and oil in proportion to their respective specific gravities. Hence becomes apparent the necessity of a new supply of water to create a higher level in both reservoir B and the water-vessel A, or the oil would gradually fall below pipe I). This object is secured with the loss of oil by consumption. The burner C may be of any suitable kind when heavy oils are employed, but even then Iprefer the common Argand burner with a chimney. When, however, more volatile hydrocarbons are employed I use a supply-tube, E, passinginto the lower part of reservoir B, and having two vertical arms, 0 e, the first within and the second without said reservoir. The top of pipe e may be on a level with the bottom of pipe 'b, and that of c with the end of pipe at. F is preferably, but not necessarily, an Argand burner, having the chamber f perforated at top and connected with supply-pipe e by branch,

tubes f 1 f but on the inner sides of the tubes f 1 f 1 I make two perforations, f f which allow some of the oil to exude. This is lighted and kept continually burning, while the oil that passes through the branches f 1 f 1 is vaporized and then burned in the form of gas at the top of chamber f.

The advantagesto thepublic of my invention 7 are as follows First, I am enabled to dispense entirely with the pumps and expensive clockwork mechanism now used in government lighthouses for keeping the oil at the proper level in the lamps; and, secondly, to dispense with relays of watchmen and substitute therefor a single inspector at long intervals; while, thirdly, I can have the most inflammable oils under perfect control, and use them with perfect impunity. The overflow-pipe amay be dispensed with and air admitted through an aperture or any part of reservoir B and the pipe d of air-tight water-chamber D maybe made to terminate in the top of oil, which would render the device entirely applicable to buoys where considerable rockingtakes place. Gages are used to show the height of water and oil. The heavier kinds of oil now in use are lardoil and sperm-oil, while I can use any kind whatever. Explosion cannot take place in my device, because the tubes are always full of t oil, and the oil is surrounded by water and pro tected from varying temperatures. If an increase of temperature causes the expansion of the air in the superposed water-tank, all that can happen is an Overflow of water. If it contained oil, an overflow of that material would be disastrous.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with any suitable burner 0, of the Water-vessel A having air and overflow-pipe a, the oil-reservoir B having oilpipe I), and the superposed water-chamber D having water-pipe (1, arranged and applied substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with devices A B O, of the tube 0 e and Argand burnerF having the perforations f 2 f arranged as and for the pur- SoLoN O. KEMON, Guns. A. PETTIT. 

